Protect the pangolins
FOURWAYS – After an awful ordeal, Mokolo the pangolin and her unborn baby are being cared for by the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital in Fourways.
The third Saturday of February is World Pangolin Day, meaning that the holiday fell on 16 February this year. As nature lovers around the globe spare a thought for the most trafficked mammal in the world, the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital is trying to save two of them.
Mokolo, a female Temminck’s ground pangolin, was confiscated from illegal wildlife traders earlier this month in the Vaalwater area after a joint effort between the Welgevonden Game Reserve, South African Police Service Endangered Species Unit Limpopo, Quemic (a safety and security company based at Shambala Game Reserve) and the African Pangolin Working Group.
After arriving at the hospital, vets discovered that she is pregnant as well as being in dire need of medical assistance.
“We are one of two facilities in South Africa where pangolins can be treated and rehabilitated. We have had 43 pangolins in the last year,” explained Karin Lourens of the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital.
“Mokolo has been in the trade for more than 10 days, that means she has been without food or water during this time as the poachers often keep them in bags or drums while in captivity. She is being treated for dehydration and severe malnutrition.”
Pangolins are trafficked for their scales, which are used in traditional medicines in the east, as well as for their meat which is considered a delicacy in places like China.
For her own safety as well as the vet staff’s, Mokolo is being kept at a secure off-site location while she and her unborn baby receive treatment.
Photo: Sarah Kempen
“We don’t know yet if the baby will be okay, the mother has suffered tremendously at the hands of her captors and we don’t know yet what the effect will be on the little fetus,” added Lourens.
Should Mokolo and her unborn baby survive, she will be fitted with a tracking device, released into a safe nature reserve and will be monitored for six months following her release. But she and her offspring are only two of thousands of the species under threat.
“Pangolins are now the most trafficked mammal on the planet. If we don’t act soon and make people aware of their plight, they will be extinct in the next decade. We need people to know about them [as] you cannot save what you don’t know.”
The Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital treats pangolins and other indigenous animals free of charge and relies solely on donations and support from the public to continue this important work. Treating pangolins, in particular, is very expensive and the organisation is asking for help from the public.
Details: www.johannesburgwildlifevet.com; jhbsmallwildlife@gmail.com; 071 248 1514.
